Firefighters partially contain one of two wildfires near Kamloops, B.C.

They are focusing their efforts on the fire’s north and south flanks to prevent it from creeping into a valley filled with timber, Ward said. (Shutterstock photo)

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Firefighters are beginning to get one of two large wildfires burning in British Columbia’s southern Interior under control.

The B.C. Wildfire Services said the fire burning at Xusum Creek west of Lillooet grew to five square kilometres overnight from four square kilometres on Friday, but firefighters have managed to contain one quarter of it.

The blaze prompted the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to order evacuations of two properties along the narrow and twisting Highline Road, in addition to evacuation alerts for almost 30 other addresses.

Fire information officer Brenna Ward said the fire is still classified as “out of control,” but 64 firefighters and three helicopters battling the blaze are making progress.

They are focusing their efforts on the fire’s north and south flanks to prevent it from creeping into a valley filled with timber, Ward said.

A much larger fire burning 55 kilometres northwest of Kamloops remains out of control.

The blaze at Allie Lake more than doubled in size between Thursday and Friday, but didn’t grow beyond 21 square kilometres overnight, fire information officer Heather Rice said.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has issued evacuation orders for 14 properties and evacuation alerts for another 51 addresses because of the potential danger to life and health.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is ramping up its response to the blaze and firefighters are working around the clock to contain it, Rice said.

There are now 112 firefighters on the ground, 10 helicopters bucketing the blaze from the sky, 12 support personnel on the incident command team and eight pieces of heavy equipment in action, she said.

The fire is burning on the perimeter of a 2,000-square kilometre area that was scorched by B.C.’s largest wildfire of 2017.

Just over 200 fires have been recorded since the season began on April 1, and the wildfire service website shows the fire risk for most of B.C. is now rated moderate to high, with several parts of the province rated at extreme risk.

A number of wildfires north of Fort St. John and west of Fort Nelson in northeastern B.C. are also active, but they are not threatening any structures.

The largest, an 11-square-kilometre blaze at Tommy Lakes, was believed to be sparked by lightning.